Salinas City Councilman Jose Castaneda is taking the public's concerns over his holding two public offices to a new level.

He filed a criminal complaint against KSBW Reporter Tom Miller, who has tried to interview him several times since he was sworn in as a City Council member in December.

Castaneda -- who also holds a seat on the Alisal Union School District Board of Trustees for a school district located in the City of Salinas -- declined all interview requests from Miller.

And according to a Salinas police report, Castaneda believes the 23-year-old reporter is a criminal.

Castaneda contacted the Salinas Police Department on Feb. 6 to accuse Miller of violating Penal Code 647c -- blocking someone's path on a public sidewalk -- nearly two months after the encounter took place. On Dec. 18, Castaneda was leaving a City Council meeting when Miller attempted a "walk and talk"-style interview on a Lincoln Avenue sidewalk.

Holding up a microphone with his cameraman following behind, Miller asked Castaneda if he planned to step down from the Alisal Union School District board because holding two positions within the same city likely violated California's conflict of interest laws.

Castaneda walked past Miller and said, "We'll talk later."

After Castaneda called the Salinas Police Department, an investigating officer went to KSBW.com and watched a video of the incident headlined, "New Salinas City Councilman dodges KSBW reporter."

"Miller asked Castaneda a question while they were walking but was not blocking Castaneda's access to the sidewalk," the officer wrote in his police report based on the video. "I was unable to observe a time when Miller blocked Castaneda's free, unobstructed access."

"I also did not hear the dialogue Castaneda described he had with Miller. The video did not depict Castaneda warning Miller about blocking the sidewalk," the officer wrote.

The city councilman also told police that he does not want Miller to come near him or his family again, adding that Miller was "acting extreme."

KSBW President and General Manger Joseph Heston said on Thursday that public officials have an obligation to speak with the media and Miller has acted professionally.

"Mr. Castaneda has been elected not to just one public office, but two, for seemingly incompatible positions. He absolutely has an obligation to answer questions from us, and even more importantly, questions from the citizens of Salinas," Heston said.

"We are aware of the police complaint. It is totally without merit and frankly could possibly be seen by some as harassment of our reporter. We will be commenting on this situation in this weekend’s KSBW Editorial."